A PRAGMATIC STUDY OF SELECTED INSCRIPTIONS ON “BRING BACK OUR GIRLS” (BBOG) CAMPAIGN PLACARDS

Abstract

This dissertation was titled “A Pragmatic Study of Selected Inscriptions on Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) Campaign Placards.” It investigated the selected inscriptions and how they were used on placards to fulfil various roles of language. The study analysed the inscriptions with special focus on the illocutionary force behind the inscriptions and demonstrated how power was linked to language from a pragmatic purview. The theoretical framework for this study was J. L. Austin’s (1962) Speech Acts Theory, which sees language use as discourse and an interactive event as expounded by Searle (1969). The data for this research were primarily derived from a corpus of 90 samples of the “Bring Back Our Girls” (BBOG) campaign inscriptions on placards. The inscriptions were downloaded from the internet. The method employed in gathering the data included documentation, and Searle’s taxonomy of illocutionary acts. Grice’s cooperative principles were applied as analytical procedure for analysis. The study found that the BBOG group used language to perform acts rather than simply making assertions. In addition, having conceptualised power and influence within the theory of speech act-illocutionary effect, the study revealed that some of the selected inscriptions produced consequential effects upon the feelings, thoughts, actions and reactions of the interlocutors. The inscriptions bore different messages that explicated on the issues concerning the abducted Chibok girls. The dissertation concluded that the BBOG group used the inscriptions on placards to persuade the government to ensure the safe return of the girls and intervention.